Diagrams for collection of gas from ventures from the sea&#39;s bottom

ABSTRACT

The present invention refers to a gas collection system from the sea bottom&#39;s vents, used to collect gaseous emissions found on the sea or ocean&#39;s bottom, from the entire area of sediments deposits with hydrates without lithologic coverage. The system, in a first version, is destined to depths accessible to a diver and consists of some conical rooms  1  connected at their superior part with some conduits  2 , to some collecting conduits  3 , further connected to an other conduit  4  which will lead the mixture of sea&#39;s water and gas to a gas separator station, not shown, located somewhere below the sea level, in water or on the shore. Each connection conduit  2  with collecting conduit  3  is provided with a valve  5  and before it, with a gas detector  6 . The system, in a second version, is destined to depths inaccessible to divers and consists of rooms  1′ , open at the bottom, provided with entrance holes b and connected at its superior part with conduits  2′ , which are connected with collectors  3′ , rooms  1 ′ and conduits  2 ′ and  3 ′. These are installed on a horizontal platform  7  provided with some legs c, with some steel cable  8  and with a conduit  4 ′, for connection to the gas separator, platform  7  is provided at its corners with a reversible propeller  9 . The rooms  1  are provided with some legs a and some entrance holes b, placed on the lateral walls, near their base. The platform  7  may have in horizontal plan a trapeze shape in order to be installed in concentric circles. Each platform  7  is being connected through some radial conduit  4 ′ to a major conduit  10 , which leads to the separation station.

On certain zones from the sea and ocean's bottom take place leaks ofgas, directed up-wards; gasses as helium, methane, butane, propane,carbon dioxide, and sulphur dioxide. These gasses reach the sea orocean's surfaces, going further into the atmosphere, polluting it.

The runnings are in the form of ventures jets, seepages or emissions ofthe entire surface of deposits of sediments with hydrates withoutlithological covering.

The distribution of these runnings in the respective areas and theirflows are very different. The sea depth, the flora and fauna, thewater's chemical content and the variation of the sea bottom's profileare major factors which must be considered when a technology for thecollection of these gasses is to be established.

For the collection of respective gasses from the sea or ocean's bottom,accounting all the above-mentioned factors, two types of maintechnological diagram of collection of gasses are taken intoconsideration, as follows:

-   -   A technological diagram for gas collection from the sea or        ocean's bottom at a depth where a diver can reach in order to be        able to do certain work under the water.    -   A technological diagram for gas collection from the sea or        ocean's bottom at a depth unreachable by a diver in order to be        able to do certain work under the water.

The diagram for depths reachable by a diver consists of some pyramidalrooms open at the bottom, rooms whose walls are provided with some holesat a short distance from their bottom. The rooms are seated, one by one,over each jet or gas emission from the sea or ocean's bottom. The top ofeach room is connected through a system of pipes set on the sea's bottomwith a gas separator placed somewhere at a depth not too far below thesea's level, in water or on the shore. The discharge conduit of eachroom is provided with a gas detector, which determines the presence orabsence of the gas inside the conduit; the same conduits are alsoprovided with a valve.

The gas collection with this diagram is realized as follows: the jets orgas emissions captured inside the rooms are activated by the sea'swater, which is running from the sea's bottom into the rooms through thewall's holes and conduits towards a separator placed somewhere below thesea's level. The running is possible due to the level difference betweenthe water from inside the conical rooms and the gas separator accordingto the vessels communication principle. The process is continuous andtakes place as long as the jets and emission do; process detected ateach room, with its detector, as shown above.

If the detector shows no gas, the diver descends in the water and closesthe afferent room's valve. It will continue to do so until the jets oremissions are exhausted or until the gas collection process is no longerjustifiable. At the end of collection, the entire apparatus can berecuperated. The diagram can be extended over a large area of gascollection.

The diagram for collection in depths unreachable by divers to do certainoperation on the sea or ocean's bottom is similar to the one mentionedabove and works under the same principle, with one following exception:the diagram is realized on a metallic platform, which is launched fromthe sea surface to the sea's bottom by a steel cable connected to theplatform's four corners. The diagram collection is connected to the gasseparator, which is placed somewhere below sea level, by a conduit towhich one or more diagrams or collection blocks can be connected. Therespective conduit, in its way towards the shown separator, is sustainedin a vertical position by a steel cable, which also serves as the anchorto a specific apparatus for gas extraction found on the sea or oceansurface. Each platform is provided with some propellers that allow thehorizontal movement of platform or block in a desired location.

Each diagram has a single valve placed on the diagram's connectingconduit, with the conduit, which goes to the separator.

An example of realization of principle diagram one for each of the twoversions presented above is further presented, as shown in FIG. 1-7.

FIG. 1. Represents a lateral view of a principle diagram for gascollection from the sea or ocean bottom at a depth where a diver canreach.

FIG. 2. Represents a view from above of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3. Represents a lateral view through a conical room and itsconnection with the collecting conduit from FIG. 1.

FIG. 4. Represents a lateral view through principle diagram of gascollection from the sea or ocean bottom at a depth where a diver can'treach.

FIG. 5. Represents an above view of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6. Represents a lateral view through a conical room and connectionwith collection conduit from FIG. 4.

FIG. 7. Represents an arrangement in a horizontal plan of diagrams orblocks of gas collection from depth.

The first principle diagram A for gas collection from accessible depthsfor a diver, consists in some conical rooms 1 connected through someconduits 2 with some collection conduits 3, collecting conduits whichare connected with conduit 4 which goes to a separation station of gasfrom water, station located somewhere below the sea level, in water oron the shore.

Any connection of conduit 2 with collecting conduit 3 is provided with avalve 5. Inside each conduit 2, before valve 5 is provided a gasdetector 6. The room 1 is provided with some legs a for its connectionwith the sea's bottom. The room 1 is also provided with some holes b, onthe lateral walls, towards the bottom, to allow the water's entrancefrom the sea or ocean's bottom into the room 1.

The gas collection diagram A works as follows: over each jet or gasemission is placed a conical room 1 securely connected with the sea orocean's bottom through legs a, then through conduit 2, the rooms areconnected through valves 5 with collecting conduit 3 sitting on thesea's bottom, conduits which further are connected to conduit 4 alsoplaced on the sea's bottom. Conduit 4 is further connected to the gasseparator station placed in an area below the sea level, in water or onthe shore.

Once the diagram is realized, the valves 5 are open and the water startsrunning according with the vessels communication principle from thesea's bottom through holes b of conical rooms 1, rooms 1, conduits 2, 3and 4 towards the separator gas-water. Once this flow is achieved, thewater activates the gas from jets or emission towards the separationstation. The system so put in operation works continuously, withoutinterruption, until the gas source is exhausted. Detector 6 connectedone for each conduit 2, before valve 5, can detect the presence orabsence of gas.

If the detector signals the absence of gas, the diver then descends intothe water, closes the afferent valve, taking out from the circuit therespective running without gas. This procedure is continuous in theentire system until the gas sources are exhausted. After the gascollection process is terminated from the respective location the entiresystem can be recuperated and adapted for being used on a differentlocation, for the same purpose.

The second principle diagram B refers to the gas collection from the seaor ocean's bottom at depths un-reachable for the diver to operate.

This diagram B is similar to the first diagram A shown above. Itconsists from some conical rooms 1′ with open bottom and of whose topsthrough conduits 2 are connected to collector 3′, collector conduitwhich is further connected through a sleeve with a conduit 4′, conduitthat goes toward the sea or ocean's surface to a gas separator, locatedin water or on the shore, at a level below the sea level. The rooms 1′,at the bottom, are provided with some legs a′ for connection with thesea or ocean's bottom. The rooms 1′ are also provided with some holes b′in the lateral walls, towards the bottom, to allow the water'scirculation.

The conical rooms 1′ and conduits 2′ and 3′ are sitting on a horizontalplatform 7, well equilibrated, together making a collection block.

For descending and ascending the platform 7 equipped as shown above, theplatform 7 is provided with some steel cables 8, connected one by one ateach platform's 7 corner. Platform 7 is also provided with legs c.

The platform 7 is also provided with some reversible propellers 9,connected one by one at each platform's 7 corners. The conduit 4′, whichgoes from platform 7 towards the mentioned separator, is up-held withsome rings by a steel cable. The cable also serves as anchor for a gasextraction apparatus located on the sea or ocean's surface. Conduit 4′can be placed on the sea's bottom, on the entire area from platform 7towards the gas separator, case in which the separator is located on theshore or on a platform at large. More similar blocks can be connected toconduit 4′, as could be seen on FIG. 7, when the separator is locatedeither on the sea or on the shore.

The diagram B works in the following way:

On platform 7 all conical rooms 1′ are installed in such a way that eachroom 1′, when the platform or respectively block is launched on the seaor ocean's bottom, will cover a jet or a gas emission from the areawhere the gas collection has to be done. Rooms 1′ are connected withconduits 2′ and 3″ from the platform 7. The reversible propellers 9 areconnected on the platform's 7 corners. From the same platform's 7corners are connected the steel cable 8.

The respective block is carefully launched on the sea or ocean bottom,on the area where the gas collection will take place, making sure thateach conical room to be positioned on top of each jet or gas emission.This operation is being done with the help of the reversible propellers9.

Once the platform 7 is in a working position, the block is connectedwith conduit 4′ and the diagram is ready to work, in the same conditionsas the first diagram.

If the gas collection area is large, then, as shown in FIG. 7, moreblocks are installed, connected between them with conduits 4′.

The diagram can work continuously, until the deposits are exhausted.

In the situation where the platforms with the respective diagrams orblocks are connected with a separation station from the shore or with agas separation station located on a platform at large, both locatedbelow the sea level, the connection conduits 4′ are seated on the bottomof the sea or ocean.

After the gas collection work is ended, the platform or platforms 7 arebrought to the surface, where they can be adapted to collect the gasfrom the sea or ocean's bottom, from a different location.

1. System of gas collection from the sea bottom's ventures, in a firstversion destined to the depths accessible to a diver, consisting ofconical rooms 1, connected at its superior part with some conduits 2 tosome collecting conduits 3 jointed further to an other conduit 4 whichdrives the sea water and gas mixture to a station of gas separation, notshown, located somewhere below the sea level, in water or on the shore,each connection of conduit 2 with collecting conduit 3 being providedwith a valve 5 and before it, with a gas detector
 6. 2. System of gascollection from sea bottom's vents, in a second version, destined todepths un-accessible to a diver, consisting of conical rooms 1′, open atthe bottom, provided with holes b and connected at their superior partto conduits 2′ which are connected to collector 3′. The rooms 1′ and theconduit 2′ and 3′ are installed on a horizontal platform 7, providedwith some legs c, with some steel cables 8 and with a conduit 4′, forconnection with the gas separator. Platform 7 is equipped with areversible propeller 9 placed at its four corners.
 3. System of gascollection from sea bottom's vents, according to claim 1, characterizedas follows: rooms 1 are open at their inferior part, are sitting on somelegs a of connection and are provided with some entrance holes b, in thelateral walls, towards the bottom.
 4. A gas collection system from seabottom's vents, according to claim 2, characterized by that the platform7 may have in horizontal plan a trapeze shape in order to be placed soas to fit in an concentric circle, each of the platform 7 beingconnected through some radial pipes 4′ to a main conduit 10, which leadsto the gas separation station.